Out of Order
by futureauthor13
Summary: Sometimes the universe can be cruel, even to CEOs. The best way to be cruel: take away a certain, caffeine filled drink. Can this day get any worse for him? Guess you'll have to read and find out! Just a fun, humor oneshot, with a little brotherly fluff at the end. No slash.


**Just another quick Kaiba Bros oneshot since I can't seem to get these two off my mind, lol. Hope you all enjoy!**

Usually he would be up at least an hour before the sun rose, but since he had finished the massive pile of paperwork last night, Seto Kaiba was able to have the rare mornings where he could sleep in a little. Although he wouldn't admit it, these mornings were nice.

Even so, when his alarm clock went off right at 6 am sharp, he didn't lay in bed silently begging for five more minutes. After all, what good would that do? Instead, Kaiba sat up, turned off the alarm, and started his day. Shower, dress, comb, brush; it was such a routine that he could honestly do it with his eyes closed.

As he exited his room and walked down the long hallway, he held back a yawn. The shower had perked him up a little, but he was still tired. This wouldn't last though, by the time he went to work he would be his usual stern, strong, slightly grumpy self.

"Morning bro!" a familiar voice greeted him when he stepped into the kitchen. Kaiba didn't say anything, but he did smile. This was another thing Kaiba enjoyed about his 'sleep-in' mornings, he would actually get to spend a decent amount of time with Mokuba rather than just seeing him for a few minutes before he went to work and his younger brother went to school.

In three years, his little brother honestly wasn't so little anymore. He was only about a head shorter than Kaiba (which of course made Mokuba happy), and while his hair was still long, he usually had it in a ponytail or braid to keep it out of the way, only wearing it down when he was at home. Today he was wearing a simple shirt and jeans, along with the black jacket with a KaibaCorp communicator - just like Kaiba's infamous white jacket - that Mokuba had gotten for his thirteenth birthday.

"Did you do your homework last night?" Kaiba asked as he made his way to the cupboards. The teen rolled his eyes. "Yes Seto," he answered with a smile. Luckily, this was usually the only thing related to homework that Kaiba asked about in the mornings. Still in a good mood, Mokuba was about to continue eating his cereal, when Mokuba remembered something - just as his big brother opened the cupboard. 'Oh boy,' he thought.

Kaiba blinked. He looked all throughout the small cupboard, but the item he was looking for wasn't there. He had to be missing it, he was just tired. Shaking his head a bit to wake himself up, he looked again, this time more thoroughly. He moved boxes around, even took nearly everything out of the cupboard, but no success.

"Mokuba," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible, "Where's the coffee?"

"Don't you remember, Seto?" Mokuba told him, "You drank the last of it yesterday."

'I did?' he thought. His frown deepened as his mind replayed the previous morning. 'That's right, I did. But I was heading to a meeting, so I didn't take the time to write a note to the staff to pick some up. And besides...'

"The groceries aren't picked up for another two days," he mumbled, hence the reason why the coffee wasn't replaced. He made a noise that sounded like a combination of a growl and a groan before sitting down at the dining room table.

"Are you going to be alright, Seto?" Mokuba asked him, genuinely concerned. He may have gotten older (and a bit more sarcastic at times), but his concern and love for his big brother stayed the same.

"I'll be fine, Mokuba," Kaiba stated. "Besides, there's a machine in my office, I'll just have some there before my next appointment."

'Yeah, but will you even make it there?' Mokuba thought as he ate a spoonful of cereal.

Kaiba was thinking the same thing. He looked at the spread of food on the table, put there for the Kaiba Brothers and the early morning staff. Breakfast was always more of a buffet since high school students and CEOs tend to not have a lot of time to eat breakfast, but lunch and dinner was always ordered and served personally.

Not one to eat much of anything for breakfast, Kaiba actually had to think for a moment to remember what he actually liked. He spotted the milk, something he liked to drink as a child, and it was cold so it should be fine. He also grabbed a banana from the bowl of fruit. What else? His eyes fell upon a small plate of cinnamon rolls and danishes. He wasn't one for sweets, but the sugar would give him a bit of energy, at least enough to get him to the top floor of KaibaCorp.

He took a big bite out of the roll, wanting to eat it as soon as possible. Mokuba raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.

Breakfast continued and Mokuba talked about what his teachers had planned for school that day as well as his plans for after school and some video game that Kaiba decided it wasn't important enough to learn the name of. Even though he still remembered to nod or 'Hmm' every once in a while, it was still a bit hard for him to concentrate on the conversation and ignore how heavy his eyelids were getting at the same time. It also didn't go unnoticed whenever he would absentmindedly reach over and grab a coffee cup that wasn't there.

When it was time for them to leave, Mokuba once again asked his brother if he was alright, and received the same answer. "Okay," he said, grabbing his bag, "Just don't fall asleep on the car ride to work."

Kaiba glared at him slightly. "Don't you have classes to go to?" Mokuba just laughed.

()()()()()()()

His plain, private office never looked as good to him as it did that morning. Not even bothering to place his briefcase on his desk, Kaiba simply placed it on the floor and walked as fast as he could to the coffee machine. Just the smell of the coffee beans was enough to perk him up a little. Pressing the buttons, Kaiba started the machine and walked back to his briefcase. After only a few minutes, he would finally have the key part of his morning routine back.

In the meantime, he could just organize and do some busy work until his 9:30 meeting. Taking out his papers and shuffling them into a neat pile, he began to smell something, something that wasn't the usual aroma of coffee. It was almost like... smoke? "What the hell?" He turned and saw a stream of dark grey smoke coming out of the small coffee machine. Kaiba's eyes widened, and he quickly turned off the machine, pulling the plug out of the wall just in case.

'What's wrong with this thing?' he thought. Examining the machine, he concluded that it was busted, and even though Kaiba was an expert at technology, he would need the proper tools to fix it. Unfortunately, offices don't typically have tools, not to mention he had a little less than an hour before his meeting, not nearly enough time to fix it and brew some coffee.

Growl-groaning again, Kaiba slammed the machine back down on the small table and walked back to his desk, practically collapsing into his chair.

He didn't want to do this, but he didn't really have any other choice. He pressed a button on his office phone.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?" a voice asked a couple seconds later. His secretary had only worked for about a year, but she was better than all his previous ones, so Kaiba kept her around.

"I need you, to pick me up some coffee. Just a cup, and hurry." he said, trying not to sound too defeated. It was his own personal rule that while he had employees to do everything else, he would get his own coffee. Gozaburo always had people make his coffee, as if he was either too lazy, too rich or simply didn't know how. Kaiba assumed it was the first, but perhaps Gozaburo thought it was the second. Either way, Kaiba decided he wasn't going to be one of those bosses. He was competent enough to get his own coffee. 'Besides,' he always thought with a small smirk, 'if I had someone get me coffee, that would be their entire job judging by how much I drink.'

"Alright, Mr. Kaiba." There was a moment of silence. "Er, what kind shall I get-?"

"It doesn't matter!" Kaiba snapped. There was a small squeak on the other line.

"Y-yes Mr. Kaiba!" With that, the line went dead.

Kaiba cursed at himself and tried to get himself to calm down a little. As he sat in his office chair, his temples began to throb. So, next to being extremely tired and annoyed, now he was starting to get a headache. He scowled.

"Perfect."

()()()()()()()()

The clock read 9:08, and those numbers were about the only ones Kaiba could focus on. When he looked down at the numbers and letters on his papers or computer, they all blurred and smooshed together. There were actually a couple times where he nearly fell asleep while reading and ended reading the exact same sentence several times.

Maybe the caffeine withdraw had a worse effect on him than he thought, but Kaiba didn't care. He just wanted his coffee so he could get back to work, and he wanted it now. Otherwise, he could end up accidentally taking a nap in front of his most important employees, and that was something he would never live down.

Finally, at 9:15 (long after Kaiba gave up on doing something productive), the doors to his office opened. The young, slightly nervous secretary stepped in. "Sorry about the wait, M-Mr. Kaiba, but the line at the shop-"

The aroma of the hot drink hit the young CEO like Obelisk's Fists of Fury, practically drowning out the woman's voice. Kaiba didn't bother waiting for her to bring it over, he simply got up without a word and walked towards her, his hair covering his tired eyes.

Already frazzled (and slightly frightened) the secretary hurried her pace across the room, wanting to give her boss the drink and get back to her boring old desk job. Unfortunately, just as the two were about to meet, the carpet in Kaiba's office just happened to snag on the woman's shoe, as if the universe wanted to see just how horrible it could make this day.

Tripping over her feet, she only managed to catch herself. The coffee on the other hand...

Kaiba watched as the Styrofoam cup fell in what seemed like slow motion, eventually crashing on the floor and leaving what was sure to be a giant, ugly brown stain.

"I-I-I am so sorry!" the secretary stuttered, bowing her head. Although, if she did look up at her boss, she would've not seen him angry or even annoyed. In fact, for a split second, the 21 year old multi-millionaire looked like the kid who wanted a cupcake but just learned that someone had just taken the last of his favorite flavor.

Of course, this was only for a second. Kaiba shook the disappointment off and looked at the secretary with sharp, icy blue eyes. "It's fine," he said, already walking passed her, "Have someone clean that up, and then get back to work." With that, he stepped outside, where he allowed his body to slouch slightly, knowing that no one could see him. 'Maybe the walk to the board room will shake me awake,' Kaiba thought, although at that point, even he knew he was just lying to himself.

Back inside his office, the young secretary nearly fainted, still not really knowing what just happened.

()()()()()()()

Even the most boring of meetings, Kaiba could easily stay wide awake through. Every rambling, dull or annoying employee, he paid attention to every single word simply because it was his company. He was in charge, and he was going to make sure everything was to his liking and that KaibaCorp stayed on top, even if it meant sitting through a thousand presentations simply about statistics and stocks.

That said, it seemed that Kaiba could only do this with caffeine in his veins, as he soon learned.

'At least I don't have to worry about missing anything,' Kaiba thought, feeling thankful and a bit clever. His coat wasn't just a communicator, but could also record audio - a handy tool that could come in anywhere from getting a password without having to take time to hack into a computer, to simply making sure he didn't miss anything at a meeting. Having to sit up straight and make sure not to block the microphone though was the price he had to pay.

His head felt like it weighed a ton, he could barely keep his eyes opened, and all he wanted to do was sleep, even if it was just for five minutes. A random thought popped into his head of a story he had read as a child about a man named Rip Van Winkle who accidentally fell asleep for a hundred years. 'Lucky bastard,' he thought as his head started to slump down.

Suddenly, the sound of clapping made him wide awake. The presentation, as well as the meeting was coming to a close. "Mr. Kaiba?" the businessman asked, obviously looking for approval.

Thankfully, after years of being forced to go to formal gatherings and parties, Kaiba had become an excellent actor.

"It was decent," he replied, his voice sounding completely normal without a hint of fatigue, "Make sure you send the presentation to me so I can make sure there aren't any errors."

"Yes Sir." With that, the men filed out of the room, and Kaiba started heading up the long flight of stairs. Two floors didn't seem too bad when he was walking down them.

He couldn't keep pretending he could just shake it off. Caffeine was the only thing that made his 'five or less hours of sleep per night' schedule actually work. He would have to leave the building to get some coffee himself. He was already dreading the trip, having to stand in line and deal with annoying people, plus all the work he would have piled up by the time he got back-

Kaiba stopped. That smell...

He found himself suddenly walking up the stairs with ease now, trying to figure out where that smell was coming from. 'Or maybe I've just finally lost it,' Kaiba thought as he tracked the aroma down the hall. 'My office? But, that's impossible! That machine was completely busted! I have to be hallucinating, or-!"

Opening the door, Kaiba's eyes brightened when he saw two Styrofoam cups sitting on his desk, steam rising up from them letting him know it was actually the drink he had been searching for. "Oh hey!" Slightly surprised, his eyes moved to the person sitting beside the desk, casually playing a portable video game. "I was hoping the meeting would end before they got too cold."

Kaiba blinked, then smiled slightly. 'Or maybe I just have the best little brother ever.'

"Shouldn't you be at school?" he asked, closing the door behind him.

"I only have one morning class this term," Mokuba answered, shutting off his game, "and I just thought I would make sure you had your coffee so you wouldn't just collapse somewhere." He smiled. "When I learned about the 'great' day you were having, I thought I'd help you out a little."

"And you were able to get someone to pick you up from school without me knowing?"

Mokuba didn't answer right away. Instead he gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, about that, I kinda walked home and then drove over here myself." Kaiba didn't look angry, but Mokuba could tell he wasn't too happy about that little detail. At least Mokuba was a competent driver, and even with only a learner's permit, no officer would arrest someone with the last name Kaiba. "I know, I already know what you're gonna say, and I promise I won't do it again, I swear." He gave his sibling another smile. "Besides, what are brothers for?"

The younger Kaiba could remember plenty of times where he accidentally forgot his lunch or homework or permission slip, and Seto would always make sure to find a way to get it to him before going to work. Even if he didn't, Mokuba still would've helped his brother out. It was like he said, what were brothers for if they couldn't help each other out once in a while?

Kaiba nodded and sat down. Part of him was slightly paranoid, as if something or someone was going to come out of nowhere and take away his precious drink. But of course - being Kaiba - he didn't let this bother him too long. Reaching over, he took the hot drink, closed his eyes and took a long drink, letting the caffeine flow through him, reenergizing him.

"Sooo?" Kaiba opened his eyes and saw his brother looking at him.

"It'll work," Kaiba replied dryly, "Thanks." Mokuba smiled. Of course Kaiba would act like it was no big deal, but Mokuba could always see tell what he was really thinking. He knew that Seto really was thankful and happy (even if his pride was slightly scratched and he was still partially tired). Mokuba didn't need to hear any of it to know it was true, so instead he just smiled. "You're welcome, Seto."

After a few sips, Kaiba remembered the second cup. "Why did you buy two cups?"

"Well, I figured since I was there, I'd give it a try," Mokuba said, picking up the cup and examining it, "It has to taste somewhat good if you want to drink it all the time."

Kaiba smirked. He could easily see where this was going. The brunette simply sat in silence as his younger brother raised the cup to his mouth and took a drink.

3...2...1...

"Blech!" Nearly spitting the drink out, Mokuba shuttered and happily gave the rest of the drink to Kaiba. "Geez, Seto! How can you drink that stuff?"

Kaiba just chuckled. Mokuba's reaction to it nearly mirrored his own when he first tried coffee, if not a bit more dramatic. "You'll learn, most likely on a day where you have to deal with three tests plus your job."

"Well, until that day comes, I'm sticking to hot chocolate!" Mokuba told him as Kaiba took another drink. At least the smell didn't bother him.

"Suit yourself." With that, the two brothers sat at the desk, enjoying each others company, as well as the simple magic of liquid gold in a Styrofoam cup - or at least one of them did.

**So yeah, not my best work but I enjoyed writing both brothers in a slightly different way. Kaiba is one of the few characters on YGO that usually has pretty good luck/never really fails, so it was kinda fun to screw around with him and give him some unlucky moments. Plus, I like to imagine this really is how he gets without coffee. As for Mokuba, this was my first time writing him as a teen, and I think I did a decent job. Besides, writing brotherly fluff is always fun. So yeah, please review and I'll see you next time!**


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